Midnight
by Submerged in Darkness
Summary: Sora is afraid of the dark, and has kept it hidden for years. But a sudden power outage leaves his fear, and his feelings, dangerously exposed. Sora x Riku . Super-fast read, perfect for Halloween.


The textbook definition of fear is 'An unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.' Centuries ago, fear is what kept our ancestors alive in the peak of eminent danger, and that trait was passed down to us. Everyone is afraid of something. If you're completely fearless, you're probably not human. Even I am afraid of things. Something. Something that is also nothing, and at the same time, is everything. Something ominous and unknowing, and may ultimately never be discovered.

I am afraid of the dark.

Even though I'm sixteen, the panic I get when the lights are off, or when I'm faced with a barely-lit street lamp on the darkest corner of the street is unnerving to me. I thought that once I was older, the fear would subside.  
If anything, now it's worse than before.  
I can't be in a completely pitch-black room at all. There must always be light, even if it's not much. I keep the hall light on and my door open. I bought a small night-lamp and some glow-in-the-dark stickers, and it all helps.  
The only problem is keeping it a secret.

How many sixteen year old guys are afraid of the dark? Probably a handful. But the number of them that are willing to admit that to everyone else? Zero.  
The only reason I've been able to keep it a secret for so long is because of how little I interact with people in the evening. I'm amazed at how well I've kept it concealed. Nobody knows about it, not even my best friend Riku Akiyama. We've been friends for about four years now, and he still doesn't know about it. If you're wondering how I've been able to keep it a secret for so long, it could be due to the fact that I've never stayed at his house overnight, nor has he stayed over at mine. For the most part, we hang out after school or on Saturday mornings, and I'm grateful that he hasn't tried to push for a sleepover.

Until now.

Halloween was right around the corner, and happened to be Riku's favourite holiday.

"It's the perfect excuse to become a completely different person for a day. And you can buy candy in bulk." He would always say. I personally prefer Christmas because, you know... _Christmas lights_.

It started out as a casual discussion about our favourite horror movies ("Was 'Oculus' really better than 'The Purge'?) before Riku paused and asked me, "We've never actually stayed the night at each other's houses, have we?"  
It was so sudden that I was unsure what to say.  
"...Guess not."  
"In four years? How did we not?"  
"I have no clue."  
"Hey, I've got an idea: why don't we have a horror movie marathon on Halloween? We can eat candy and scare ourselves shitless!"  
His eyes lit up in excitement, much like a little kid's eyes would in the toy-store. I was all for his cute enthusiasm, but...  
Scaring ourselves?

"Um, if you want to, but..." I stalled, trying to come up with an excuse not to go.  
"But what?"  
"I uh...I snore sometimes, like really loudly. And erm, I don't think you would be able to get much sleep with me around." I stammered.  
"Well, I guess we'll have to pull an all-nighter then." Riku chuckled, ruffling my messy brown hair. He knows it annoys me, but he still does it anyways.

"I don't know...I'm pretty grumpy when I'm sleep deprived..."  
"Aw, now you're just making excuses. I bet you're just too much of a wimp to watch all that scary stuff on Halloween." He teased. Even though he was half right, I wasn't about to tell him that.

I thought about it for a moment. Staying up all night would mean not sleeping, which would mean not turning off the light. Which would mean no complete darkness.

"Nah, I'm not a wimp. I bet anything you'll be the one to scream first." I challenged. Riku raised an eyebrow in return.  
"It's on."

The weeks leading up to Halloween were absolute torture. Riku kept asking me if I was prepared, and how many cans of Pringles he should buy. I was a wreck, dreading the moment the sun would set that night. I prepared in advance, packing my trusty flashlight and a handful of extra batteries. The worst thing that could possibly happen would be Riku making fun of me for being a wimp.  
Or I have a panic attack. Whatever comes first.

Finally, October 31st rolled around, and I was ready. I brought the movies, and Riku had stocked up on snacks. I stood and waited at his front door, which was so familiar to me even with the new spooky decorations on the porch.  
Riku opened the door and smiled. He was certainly dressed for the occasion, wearing a pair of black jeans and his muscle shirt that had a skull on the front. It was also his way of showing off his muscular arms and shoulders. He loved to rub it in my face that I was small and scrawny. Once, I had secretly tried on one of his muscle shirts, and unfortunately, I was swimming in it. I try to work out, but it hasn't really been making a difference.

"I hope you like Oreos," Riku said as he opened the door for me. "Because they were on sale and I bought 4 packages." I stepped inside and he immediately took my bags, which was just another excuse for him to show off.  
"You realize that if you keep this up, you're gonna get diabetes." I commented, kicking off my shoes.  
"Nah, I work out, remember?" He smirked, pausing to flex his arm. I somehow knew he was going to do that.  
"Yeah well, not all of us are as muscular and pretty as you." I frowned. Riku turned to look at me, confused.

"I'm pretty?"  
I grinned. "Yeah, you have long, pretty girl hair. It's absolutely gorgeous, Riku." It was true: his silver hair had now grown down to his lower back, and it was always somehow really glossy. I could tell that I had irritated him when he made a big deal about dropping my bags on the floor to put his hair up into a ponytail.  
"Hey, you can't make fun of me for that when you haven't even gone through puberty yet. You have such a girly voice, and you're still short." He replied snidely. I couldn't think of a comeback, so I just glared at him and proceeded to grab a box of Oreos from the counter. He laughed, then took my bags down to his room.

Riku's bedroom was in the basement, and his setup was pretty sweet: there was an entire space outside of his room dedicated to gaming, with a Ping pong table darts, and air hockey. Inside of his room, he had a walk-in closet, along with a king-sized bed and a flat screen tv. His Dad was out of the picture, and his mom often worked out of town (tonight was no different) so as a result, he was helplessly spoiled. I took my phone out of my back pocket and checked the time. 6:34. The sun would be going down soon, therefore I had to make sure all the lights were on upstairs and down. Riku had suggested that we hang out upstairs for a bit, waiting for a few trick-or-treaters to come and go. As we made our way up, I stopped, flicking all the light switches on. Luckily, Riku didn't seem to notice. And if he did, he didn't seem to mind.

After a couple more kids had come to the door, we decided to leave a small bowl of candy out on the porch and head back downstairs. Riku's mom called to check up and make sure everything was alright, and after he had reassured her he hung up and grabbed me by the arm, practically dragging me downstairs.  
"Now the real fun begins." He laughed as we descended the stairs.  
I popped the first movie in the DVD player, and Riku carefully laid out the snacks.

"Lights off?" He raised his eyebrows suggestively. I immediately began to panic.  
"Uh, well, maybe we can um, just watch the first few in the light?" I stuttered.  
Riku smiled. "Okay, scaredy-cat, whatever helps you sleep tonight." The insult was unavoidable, but if it meant keeping the lights on, I could take it.  
I grabbed a bag of gummy worms and flopped onto his bed, and he did the same.  
As the opening credits began, Riku smirked, then leaned over and whispered, "You can hold my hand if you get scared."

"That's heroic coming from someone with Cheeto dust all over his fingers." I retorted, then laughed as he made a big exaggeration of wiping his hand on the side of his pants.

"You've got all the Halloween colors on you now." I chuckled, as his pants now had a slight orange tinge to them. Riku hid his face, but I could tell he was smiling.  
The movie wasn't too bad, and has only a few jumpscares overall. When it was over, I took the opportunity to get up and stretch.  
"Ehhh, I'd give that a four out of ten." Riku frowned, stretching his arms above his head. In doing so, his shirt lifted up to reveal the bottom-half of his stomach. For some reason, I couldn't tear my eyes away until his shirt covered it again.  
"So, what now: 'Saw'? 'The Exorcist?'" I asked, flipping through the selection.  
"Hm, doesn't matter." He replied nonchalantly. I frowned, still flipping through the selection.

But then, I couldn't see what was in front of me. I couldn't see at all.  
It was so sudden, I could barely comprehend it.  
"Shit. Power outage." I could hear Riku's voice from behind me.  
Power outage...  
Then it dawned on me.  
It was pitch-black.

Darkness.  
It was everywhere, and was trying to suffocate me.  
'Flashlight, flashlight, I need to find my flashlight...' I thought frantically, trying to feel where it might be.  
But I couldn't. I couldn't bear to touch anything I couldn't see. I opened my eyes: it was still as dark as it was when my eyes were closed. I crumbled onto the floor, covering my eyes with my hands.  
"It's...it's too dark. It's everywhere, I-I can't stop it." I whimpered.

"Woah hey, are you okay?" Riku's voice seemed so far away, and I felt so vulnerable and afraid.

"N-No I'm not. Please, get rid of it. Please."  
I could hear him shuffling around, but I couldn't see him. It was like he was there, but at the same time, he wasn't.

Not knowing what's really there is a terrifying thing. Anything could be there, silently waiting for an opportunity.

"Get rid of what?" He sounded genuinely concerned.  
"Th-the darkness. I hate it...please." I begged.  
I tried not to think about it  
It's nothing, it's nothing, nothing's there...  
Nothingness is nothing...But at the same time it's everything. It's ominous and unknowing. And..dangerous.

"Oh man, don't tell me-"

"Yes, I'm afraid! I'm afraid of the dark, okay?" I was crying now. I couldn't move, I was paralyzed with fear.  
I suddenly felt hands on my shoulder, and I screamed.  
"I-It's ok, it's just me!" It was Riku, and his voice was closer now.  
"R-Riku..." I sob-hiccuped. I was being pathetic, but I didn't care. I couldn't care, not when I could barely comprehend my surroundings.  
"I-I'll go try to find a match or something, just hang on!" His voice was farther away now, and I panicked. My body was still paralyzed, but I managed to reach out and grab Riku's hand.  
"No, you c-can't leave me here alone!" I sobbed. I couldn't stay here by myself, I just couldn't.  
Riku said nothing, then silently took both my hands, lifting me up from the ground.  
"Can you move?" He asked quietly.  
"N-No."

Then wordlessly, he scooped me up into his arms, pulling me close to his chest. I was so surprised at this that I managed a small gasp, but it sounded more like a squeak. But he was warm, and smelled like chocolate. Not bothering to care what he thought, I wrapped my arms around his waist and buried my head in his chest, still crying.  
"It's going to be okay. Nothing is here but us, and I wouldn't let anything hurt you either way." His voice was quiet, and seemingly sounded more patient. I was always so used to him being teasing and mean, that I could barely comprehend it.  
"Y-You're not m-making fun of me..." I sniffled.  
"Everyone's afraid of something. Nothing's funny about that."

He carried me to the bed, and gently laid me down and tucked me in. Then he silently slipped under the covers, and I clung to him as he whispered, "It'll be alright. You're safe here." As he was saying so, he began to run a hand through my messy hair. This time I didn't mind, and instead buried my face deeper into his chest.

"Any better?" He asked. Slowly, I opened my eyes. The darkness, the nothingness, was still there. But Riku was there, and I could feel his warmth...and I could touch him. He was something amidst the nothing.  
"I'm still scared, but...I feel better with you here." I could feel the steadiness of his heartbeat, and it was very reassuring.  
"If I told you my greatest fear, would you feel better?"  
I tilted my head upwards, even though I couldn't see him. "You're afraid of something? I always thought you were mister tough guy."  
He chuckled. "Not so much. Like I said, everyone's afraid of something. But I'll be okay with telling you if you promise to keep it a secret." Riku gently one of my hands away from his waist to hold it. My heart skipped a beat, but I quickly dismissed it.  
"I won't say anything if you don't say anything." I promised, squeezing his hand reassuringly.  
"Fair enough. Alright..." He took a deep breath, his grip tightening around my hand.  
"You...you're afraid of darkness. I...have a fear of loneliness. Abandonment. Never finding someone."

I could barely process it. Riku always acted so full of himself...did that mean it was all just a facade?  
"Then why do you always act-"  
"-Like a dick? Because at the same time, I don't want to get too close to anybody. I don't want to get attached and have them leave. I mean...my dad did, so anybody could." He took a shaky breath. His heart was beating much faster now, and his hands were gripping mine tight.  
"I had no idea..." Was the only thing I could say.  
"Yeah, well...I had no idea that you were afraid of the dark, so I guess we're both good at keeping stuff hidden." He mused.  
"Yeah, I guess..."

"That's why...I'm mean to you sometimes. I don't want to get too attached to you and then have you leave me. But it's too late...I'm already..." He stopped, not able to finish the sentence.  
"...attached?" I finished. I couldn't see him, but I could feel a tear fall on my cheek, so I knew he was crying. I lifted my other hand up to gently wipe the tear away from his face, and he leaned into my hand.  
"I'm sorry. I don't mean to be clingy but...I hope you don't plan on leaving me anytime soon." Riku sighed, running his hand through my hair again. "This'll probably sound weird but...I care about you a lot, Sora. I hope you know that."  
My heart started to beat faster. I never thought I'd hear such kind words from him, and that they'd be about me. He cared about me, and he didn't want me to leave.  
"Riku...I'm not going to leave you. You're my best friend." I said, gently entwining our fingers together. "Besides, I'm not exactly unattached to you either."  
"Really?" He sounded surprised.  
"Um, I'm literally holding your hand and cuddling you right now. I wouldn't be doing that if I didn't like you somewhat." I smiled as Riku let out a soft chuckle, pulling me closer.

"Well, now that you feel a bit more comfortable, do you want to try and find a light source?"  
My heart jumped to my throat, and I clutched to the fold of his shirt. "I...I have a flashlight in my bag but...I don't want you to leave."  
"Then we can do it together. I have an idea, but you have to stand up. I'll be right here, so you don't have to worry." I was uncertain, but I trusted his judgement. He took my hand and stood me up, then wrapped his arms around me, covering my eyes with his hands.  
"You still can't see anything, but I can lead you around the room, and I won't let anything get you." Again he spoke with softness, and I couldn't help but feel safe with his strong arms wrapped around me. Even though I saw nothing, I knew he would guide me through the nothingness.

Eventually we reached my bag, and Riku took one hand off of me to bend down and open it, taking the flashlight out and immediately turning it on. I released a breath of air that I was holding in, relieved that I could see his face again. His Long, glossy silver hair, and aqua-blue eyes were a wonderful sight.  
"Finally, I can see you again." He grinned, and I grinned back, not letting go of his hand.

All of a sudden, the room lit up, as if it was coming back to life.  
"Ah, the powers back on. That was quicker than I thought it would be." Riku turned off the flashlight. I could see again. The emptiness was gone. It was just a room again, and Riku was still there.  
"Thank god." I breathed, collapsing onto the floor. Riku sat down as well, still not letting go of my hand.  
"You were very brave." He said quietly, and I turned to look at him. He was staring at me intently, his eyes burning into mine.

"In a way, you were too. We were both exposed tonight." I replied, not looking away from his intense gaze.  
"Either way, I think you owe me a 'thank you'." He mused, and without thinking I slid closer to him, until I was so close to his face that I could feel his breath. He instinctively backed away, his face redder than I've ever seen it.  
"S-Sora, are you sure you want to do tha-"  
He wasn't able to finish. Our lips met and that was the end of it.  
Kissing a boy wasn't the same as kissing a girl, but if anything, it felt better. His lips were soft, like fallen rose petals, and he still smelled like chocolate. I gently took his hand, and our fingers laced together. Riku took my other hand and placed it on his chest, and Our lips parted.

"Can you feel how fast my heart is beating right now?" He gasped, breathless from the kiss. I gently pressed my hand over his heart, which was pounding hard.  
"It's racing as much as mine is." I panted, also out of breath. I took his hand and placed it on my chest to prove it.  
"I-I guess we're both nervous." He laughed.  
"Yeah, but you're nervous because you don't want me to leave after all this attachment. I'm nervous because I just survived a power outage and now I'm kissing my best friend."

Riku looked startled. "Y-You're not going to leave, are you?" He asked worriedly.  
"Nope. Not anytime soon." I grinned, pulling him close to my chest.  
"That's good, because as long as you stay with me...I'd love to be your light."  
"Would you mind elaborating on that?" I asked, confused.  
"That sounded really cheesy, I'm sorry...but as long as we're friends, or whatever...I'll help drive your nightmares away. Even if it means sleeping with the lights on every night." He pledged, and I couldn't help but smile at his words.  
"It's a deal." I replied, then he wordlessly scooped me up and our lips were entangled in each others once more.

I thought my fear would forever cripple me, but as the years went on it became more and more easy to withstand the darkness. I'm still not quite over it, but now I have Riku to help me through my fears. Whenever there's another power outage or I can't face the darkness, he pulls me close and tells me that everything will be okay. He is my light, and he always will be. And whenever he's scared I might leave, I quietly take his hand and remind him that the rings on both of our fingers symbolize a promise that we would be together, always. And together, we will continue to keep each other's nightmares away.

The End

Quick Author's Note: Thank you for taking time out of your day to read my little OS, and I hoped you enjoyed it! I had this idea for a while now, and I thought that it would be perfect for Halloween. I'm sorry if it isn't as long or good as my last fic, but I wanted to have it published for October 31st, so it was a tad bit rushed. Anyways, if you enjoyed it (or even if you didn't!) please let me know in the comments what you liked or disliked, as well as any suggestions on what to write next! And remember, whether you're afraid of the dark like Sora, or have a fear of abandonment and loneliness like Riku (and me!) just know that it's perfectly okay to fear something, no matter how small or stupid it may seem. And if you happen to come across this at the end of October, I hope you have a wonderful Halloween!


End file.
